Impatiens hawkeri cultivar Balcebstar.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of New Guinea Impatiens plant, botanically known as Impatiens hawkeri, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Balcebstarxe2x80x99.
The new Impatiens is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Arroyo Grande, Calif. The objective of the breeding program is to develop New Guinea Impatiens cultivars that have a freely branching growth habit and large flowers with attractive flower colors.
The new Impatiens originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in 1998 of a proprietary selection of Impatiens hawkeri identified as code number 2160, not patented, as the female, or seed parent, with the Impatiens hawkeri cultivar Neptis, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,321, as the male, or pollen parent. The cultivar Balcebstar was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Arroyo Grande, Calif.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in Arroyo Grande, Calif. since November, 1998, has shown that the unique features of this new Impatiens are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Balcebstarxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Balcebstarxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Impatiens cultivar:
1. Upright, rounded and uniform plant habit.
2. Light pink and red bi-colored flowers that are positioned above and beyond the leaves.
3. Very dark green-colored leaves.
Plants of the new Impatiens differ primarily from plants of the female parent in flower color. Plants of the new Impatiens differ primarily from plants of the male parent in leaf size.
Plants of the new Impatiens can be compared to plants of the cultivar BFP-467 Cherry Red, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,520. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in West Chicago, Ill., plants of the new Impatiens differed from plants of the cultivar BFP-467 Cherry Red in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Impatiens had darker green leaves than plants of the cultivar BFP-467 Cherry Red.
2. Plants of the new Impatiens had light pink and red bi-colored flowers whereas plants of the cultivar BFP-467 Cherry Red had solid dark red-colored flowers.
Plants of the new Impatiens can be compared to plants of the cultivar Celebration Cherry Star, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,407. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in West Chicago, Ill., plants of the new Impatiens differed from plants of the cultivar Celebration Cherry Star in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Impatiens were not as freely flowering as plants of the cultivar Celebration Cherry Star.
2. Plants of the new Impatiens had light pink and red bi-colored flowers whereas plants of the cultivar Celebration Cherry Star had pink and light red bi-colored flowers.